Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Today, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC) is organizing a sit-in outside the Second Members' Office Building of the House of Representatives (i.e. the Upper House of the Japanese Diet) in Tokyo's Nagatacho to stage a sit-in protest against amendments to the Worker Dispatch Law, currently under consideration by the Upper House.

JTUC sit-in protest outside the Upper House of the Japanese Diet

Under the slogan of "Stop a society marked by disparity" (this being a somewhat longwinded translation by this blogger of the more compact "ストップ・ザ・格差社会!"), members of various unions gathered from 9 a.m. this morning under the JTUC banner to mark their opposition to the bill going ahead.

The protest is scheduled to last until 4 p.m. Busloads of protesters were being brought in this morning. Under the crisp blue autumn sky sat crowds of sitters in with scores of banners, an orator with a loudspeaker, and a quietly optimistic-looking atmosphere. Notably, the police presence was not strong at all.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

A Walk Around Kyushu
Day 43, Hitoyoshi to Setoishi
Wednesday November 27th, 2013

The forecast is for a fine day, but the river valley is filled with mist so there is no way of knowing what's above it. Today I will be heading down the river towards the coast at Yatsushiro, and whenever I finish walking I will take a train into Yatsushiro and come back out tomorrow.

For the first few kilometers I take the main road along the river but once I reach the bridge just past Watari I cross over to the west bank and follow the much quieter road that follows the rail line.

The mist gradually burns off and clings to the mountainsides and reveals the promise of another fine day. The river and its valley remind me somewhat of the valley I live in in West Japan, though there are more faster sections that roar with white noise. Certainly it would be a more exciting boat ride than I took yesterday. I pass through several small, quiet settlements and stop in at a few shrines and small Buddhist chapels.

On the far bank the main road is busy with traffic. Further down the road I spy what appears to be a huge pole with a distinctly phallic shape to its tip, once I reach it I am delighted to discover it marks a small fertility shrine, one of the things that I am always on the lookout for in my wanderings around the backwaters of Japan.

The small hut contains about 20 phalli, left as prayers for pregnancy. This more than makes up for my disappointment at not being able to visit a fertility shrine a few days ago up at the top end of the valley. Another hour and I can make out an unusual structure perched on the mountainside of the opposite bank. A cluster of cylinders with domed roofs, it looks a little like a mosque, but by my estimation it is roughly where a big cave is located.

As I get closer I pass through a "vacation village", a series of cabins available for rent along the riverside. They are all closed up now as it is out of season. 2 of the cabins are really unusual, both part of the Kumamoto Artpolis project that puts innovative architecture in communities around the prefecture.

I'm really surprised by how small the two structures are, literally small cabins, but that is because when I had seen photos of them before the photos made them appear much larger.

It is a shame I can't get inside them. From here a small suspension bridge goes over the river and a trail heads up the cliff. There is a small chairlift, but its all closed up.

On top, across the main road is the entrance to a cave, Kyusendo, and I pay my entrance fee and enter. I like caves, and this one is OK, but I would probably rate it as the least interesting of all the ones I've visited in Japan.

There is not much in the way of stalagmites or stalactites, though there is a Bat Cave, but for obvious reasons it's not accessible to the public. Back outside the cave I learn that the domed structure across the road that I had seen coming down the valley is a museum.

Like many such museums in Japan it has a curious mix of exhibits. This one focuses on the local forest and Thomas Edison. As far as I can tell there is absolutely no connection between Edison and this area and can only presume that it was the brainchild of a bureaucrat or local politician.

I choose not to visit and instead go back down and cross back over to the other bank and continue on my way. The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful, though the noise of the river was a nice accompaniment to my musings.

Gradually it clouded over. After a couple of hours I called it a day and caught a train into Yatsushiro where I had found a good deal on a room. Tomorrow I will take the train back to where I stopped walking and finish the journey into Yatsushiro.

There are only four 762mm narrow gauge railways in Japan and the Hokusei Line is the longest. The others are the Kintetsu Utsube Line and Kintetsu Hachioji Line (both in Mie Prefecture near Yokkaichi) and the Kurobe Gorge Railway in Toyama Prefecture.

Places of interest near to Hokusei Line stations include Hashiri Izun Temple near Umamichi Station, the first stop from Nishi Kuwana, about 1km away.

Although the bus service to Eiheiji Temple is more direct you can change at Eiheiji-guchi and transfer to a bus to visit the famous Zen temple.

Katsuyama Station has been restored to its former glories and the pretty, timber-framed building now hosts a cafe looking out on to the platform.

The Mikuni-Awara Line runs 28km from Echizen Railway Fukui Station to Mikuni-Minato Station in Sakai. The inbound services to Fukui Station are timed to connect with Hokuriku Express trains from JR Fukui Station.

The Echizen Railway is something of a step back in time and should be a treat for fans of Japanese railways. Each train has a (male) driver and (female) attendant (pictured above) in a division of the sexes fairly typical of Japanese society as a whole.

The Echizen Railway Mikuni-Awara Line connects with the Fukubu tram line at Tawaramachi Station.

Click to enlarge

The Echizen Railway was previously operated by Kyoto-based Keifuku Electric Railway until ownership was transferred to Echizen Railway after a couple of accidents on the line in 2001.

Monday, October 20, 2014

I took part on Saturday in a hands-on photo tour called "Tradition and Modernity" organized by eyexploretokyo photo tours.

I had actually booked a couple of weeks beforehand for the eyexploretokyo "People and Streets" tour that took groups of aspiring tourist/photographers through the streets of Harajuku, but Typhoon Phanfone put paid to that.

"Tradition and Modernity" began in Tokyo's beautiful Hamarikyu Gardens, which is ideal for the theme given its deeply traditional landscaping and examples of Japanese architecture against a not-so-distant backdrop of very modern skyscrapers that almost surround the park.

Magnus, our tour guide, is a professional photographer, originally from Germany and now based in Japan. "Tradition" obviously being of the Japanese variety, we were encouraged to draw on Japanese aesthetic traditions in composing our photos. Our guide not only gave examples, but provided clear and constructive feedback on the photos we took. Comparing what we had taken with what he had taken, and with shots by other participants, too, was a valuable learning experience in itself.

The afternoon sun on the park gave way to dusk, and we were encouraged to take advantage of the changing light to capture scenes creatively and memorably.

We then walked to nearby Shinbashi station, through a cluster of skyscrapers, which we spent further time photographing more in the "modernity" vein. The next stop was Yurakucho, a warren of darkly lit underpaths and alleys that feature tiny Japanese-style pubs and snack stalls - evocative of the movie Bladerunner which drew very much on this tradition-modernity dichotomy for its effect.

Our expert eyexploretokyo guide, Magnus, in foreground

I appreciated in particular the handy hints regarding aperture and speed settings for the dingy conditions we were shooting in, and found a touch of new-found confidence operating in manual mode.

The group then moved on to the brand-new, super-modern Kitte building in Marunouchi, from whose outdoor balcony we finished up with more night shots, of the recently, and beautifully, renovated Tokyo Station, in all its redbrick grandeur complete with restored cupolas.

The above shots are from my own "best of" on the day which, thanks to eyexploretokyo, represent a far better outcome than my usual unreflective solitary pointing and shooting.

I heartily recommend one of these tours to anyone in Tokyo, resident or tourist. This tour opened this long-term Tokyo resident's eyes to new aspects of Tokyo's charm, mystery and beauty ... in expert hands, in great company, and with some beautiful shots to show for it.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Tenmonkan in Kagoshima is one of the city's main shopping, entertainment and accommodation districts.

Long shotengai covered arcades such as Tenmonkan Hon-dori (Main Street) Arcade and the Tenmonkan G3 Arcade (Sennichi-dori) stretch out from both sides of the main road through the area where the Kagoshima tram runs.

The glass roofed arcades offer shelter from the elements during winter and summer as well as the ash from Sakurajima.

The arcades are home to a variety of shops, bakeries, restaurants, cafes and izakaya - Japanese style pubs.

Look out for the delicious anko - azuki bean paste - sweets on sale. From Kagoshima Chuo Station take the street car to the Tenmonkan stop.

The area around Hirabari Station includes a Piago supermarket open from 10am until 8pm, a pachinko parlor, a branch of the Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ bank, Hirabari Post Office, a Mister Donut outlet, a branch of Osho Gyoza, a Matsuya gyudon fast food restaurant, a B&D discount pharmacy, an ECC language school, and a variety of shops, bars, cafes, clinics, restaurants and izakaya.

Hirabari Station has full wheelchair access by elevator and a charged bicycle parking lot (100 yen for bicycles). There is a taxi rank at the station.

Buses from Ueda include the Kan Hongo 1 for Hongo, the Hirabari 11 for Hara Station, the Hirabari 12 for Hirabari Jutaku public housing estate, the Nagoya Driver's License Center, and Tokushige Station and the Tokushige 11 for Tokushige Station on the Sakura-dori subway line.

Very close to Hirabari Station is the large Nagoya Memorial Hospital (Nagoya Kinen Byoin).

Saturday, October 11, 2014

The efforts of Rev. Daniel Rea to address the homeless population in Nagoya, Japan's 4th largest city, include an out-reach to other churches active in the area addressing this pressing social problem, in an effort to co-ordinate a united policy for tackling the issue.

Homelessness is manifestly low on the priorities of policy-makers in Nagoya and Aichi Prefecture as a whole and the problem has been left to churches and local NGO's to provide short-term, make-shift solutions to a social concern crying out for decisive, city-wide governmental action.

We visited the MIR Restoration Church, a short walk from Tokai-dori Station on the Meiko Line from Kanayama Station situated in an area of vast public housing blocks, housing a large proportion of Japanese-Brazilian immigrants.

The MIR Restoration Church provides a now, sadly, run-down shelter for five people behind its main church premises, where homeless men can find accommodation and access day work in local factories and businesses as well as claim state benefits. The building is far from ideal and faces closure from the city authorities, who seek to have the structure condemned as unsafe.

Later we visited Meijo Koen, Nagoya's main inner city park, close to the tourist attraction of Nagoya Castle, where a small population of homeless people have moved into the interior of the grounds near the lake, a popular place for cherry blossom viewing in spring. It seems they may have been moved away from the entrances to the park under pressure from the authorities, though this has not been confirmed.

Thursday, October 09, 2014

Yesterday's eclipse of the moon was, fortunately, visible from Japan and occurred in the evening.

By the time I finished work at about 7 p.m., there was just a bright white sliver, about 1/16 of the moon, at the top of the lunar disk, and as I cycled home over the next half hour it got gradually smaller and smaller until, at about 7:45 p.m., the moon was almost entirely obscured - although still able to be identified by the reddish-brown tinge it had taken on. The color of the eclipse this time earned it the moniker of a "blood moon" - a suitably spooky one for an event so steeped in mystery and superstition.

Lunar eclipse over Marunouchi, Tokyo. (Yes, that dot in the sky!)

Almost as interesting as the eclipse itself was the reaction it elicited, of contained excitement and intense curiosity among the scores of people at almost every street corner or other vantage point.

Cycling down past the Imperial Palace and through the Marunouchi district, I saw dozens and dozens of mobile phones somewhat futilely pointed at the night sky to record the event (I say futilely, because look at the meager result of mine above, taken on my phone!)

Once home I got out my camera and took a shot of the almost fully eclipsed moon from the balcony looking east. In this somewhat better shot, you can make out the red, fully eclipsed moon quite high in the sky. Below it, in the middle of the photo is the broad "coolly hat" silhouette of the Kokugikan (the headquarters of sumo in Japan) and, right behind it, the Edo Tokyo Museum - both in the Ryogoku district of Tokyo.

Red, fully eclipsed moon in the sky over the Kokugikan and Edo Tokyo Museum, Tokyo.

A lunar eclipse is called a gesshoku 月食 in Japanese, the first kanji being for "moon" and the second for "eat": a colorful rendition of a phenomenon where, indeed, the moon does appear to be being consumed.

Apparently this eclipse is one of only eight tetrads that will happen in the twenty-first century, a tetrad being a set of four eclipses. The first in this current tetrad took place in April, with the next two due to happen on April 4th and September 28th, 2015.

Wednesday, October 08, 2014

The quickest way to get from Nagoya to Fukui is by train. However, though an hour longer in travel time, the highway bus from Nagoya Station is cheaper especially if you buy a fixed return ticket, though it is usually no problem to change the time of your departure at Fukui Station.

The highway bus to Fukui leaves from the Taikoguchi Shinkansen exit of Nagoya Station and arrives at the East Exit of Fukui Station. There are various stops on the route including at a highway service station and in Tsuruga and Sabae on the way to Fukui on the Hokuriku Expressway around the eastern side of Lake Biwa.

Journey time is 3 hours. A single ticket is 3,000 yen with a fixed return 5, 140 yen. By train from Nagoya the quickest journey time without changing is by Shirasagi Limited Express train taking 2 hours, 11 minutes and costing 5,700 yen for a single. Another route is to take a Hikari Shinkansen to Maibara from Nagoya Station and then change to the Shirasagi. Journey time is only 99 minutes and the fare is 6,120 yen.

The highway bus at the Taikoguchi exit of Nagoya Station leaves from stop number 2 where buses depart for Fukui and Kanazawa and less frequently to Kofu and Toyama. Departure times for Fukui are 7.10am, 8.30am, 10am, 11.10am, 1.10pm, 3.10pm, 5.10pm and 7.10pm.

Monday, October 06, 2014

A Walk Around Kyushu
Day 42, Around Hitoyoshi
Tuesday November 26th, 2013

I am up at first light. Busy day ahead, not the usual getting from A to B, but crisscrossing the area by foot, boat, and bus.

My first stop is Ganjoji Temple, number 50 on the pilgrimage, which is located just a little to the east of my hotel. There are a few temples clustered together, and plenty of autumn colors on display, so cliché photos are possible.

More interesting than the temple itself is the graveyard on the hillside behind.

Here are buried all the generations of the local lords and their families, so line after line of stone monuments. The ground is a carpet of yellow. Fallen gingko leaves, though they have lost their deep, rich, gold color and are now faded to a pale yellow, but against the reflected blue of the sky in the shadows it is quite vibrant. All quiet sombre.

From here I cross over the river to explore the ruins of the castle. Once again the autumn foliage is out and full so cliched photography has full reign. Down below the castle I am delighted to discover the remnants of what must have been quite a grand garden, and though not as tended as in former times it is still delightful due to the palette of colors.

By now its approaching 9.30am and time to head back over to the other bank of the river and take a boat trip. The Kumagawa is classed as one of the three fastest rivers in Japan.

Relatively speaking, all Japanese rivers are short and fast. Geologically the country is new and so time and erosion have not formed long, slow, wide rivers like the Mississippi or the Nile, nor even like the Thames.

On the Kumagawa around Hitoyoshi there are two boat ride options, the gentle course, and the wild course.

The gentle course begins in the town and goes downstream to Watari. The wild course begins at Watari but does not operate in the winter months. The boats are traditional cedar river boats with two boatmen, one at the bow and one at the stern.

We passengers sat cross legged. It was a windy day but the 2 hour boat trip was pleasant enough. At times the water was a little deeper and slow and so the boat was poled, and at other times it was fast and noisy as it rushed over the rocks, but not enough to call it whitewater.

There was plenty of bird life, ducks, probably wintering here from Siberia, herons, egrets, cormorants, overhead kites. After getting off the boat we were brought back into Hitoyoshi by shuttle bus and I headed north out of town to the next pilgrimage temple, #52 Takatera-in.

It didn't take long to get out of the town into the countryside, and away from the river the wind was negligible. It was a pleasant, warm, sunny afternoon as I arrived at the temple.

The temple itself is unremarkable, though it has several statues of Bishamonten that are registered as cultural assets, but they are "hidden" from public view.

I climb the old, worn path to the top of the hill to the Okuin, the "inner hall" where the statues would have been before now being stored in the treasure house.

Leaving the temple I stop by the village shrine which is surrounded by scaffolding as it has a brand spanking new roof of thick thatch.

It's nice to see thatch still being used. I head back into town the way I came and then head out west of town to some hills on top of which is the next temple, #53 Kanrenji.

It was the most impressive of all the temples I visited that day, more buildings and statuary, made better by the late afternoon light, horizontal golden shafts articulating everything with deep shadows.

My route back to my room passed right by the Aoi Aso Shrine again so I stopped in for some more quick photos before the light disappeared completely.

Thursday, October 02, 2014

Japan is home to a small but growing Muslim population, especially as young Muslims from Malaysia, Singapore, The Philippines, Pakistan and Indonesia come to study at Japanese universities, as the overall number of young university-age Japanese students continues to fall.

Some university cafeterias in Japan have set up halal options for their Muslim students.

Japan also has small, though significant populations of Turkish, Iranian and Pakistani ex-patriots.

Japan's first mosque, Kobe Mosque, was established in the international port city of Kobe in 1935. Now there are over 80 mosques (masjid) in Japan with the majority of them situated in the big cities of Tokyo and Osaka.

One of the largest and most famous mosques in Japan is the Tokyo Camii & Turkish Culture Center, in Shibuya, which was founded in 1938 by Tatars who had fled the Russian Revolution.

The new Islam Ahmaddiya Mosque (Baitul Ahad Mosque; Mosque of the One God) in Tsushima, western Nagoya opened in 2015 and is said to be bigger than Tokyo Camii & Turkish Culture Center with a capacity for 500-800 worshipers.

Two significant mosques in the Chubu (Central) area of Japan are Nagoya Mosque and Gifu Mosque, situated outside the center near Gifu University. There is also a mosque in Toyota city.

In the Kansai there are the Osaka Central Masjid and the Kyoto Muslim Association in Kyoto, near Kyoto University.

Wednesday, October 01, 2014

Trains in Japan are renowned for achieving the almost impossible feat (in most countries) of running on time. And even if a train is a minute or two late, in Tokyo during the day they come and go so frequently that you're never waiting for more than about five minutes.

Train delay certificate, Sobu Line, Tokyo, Japan.

Having the trains run on time in Japan is achieved by way of strict discipline and efficient communication, which is visible in the highly formalized words and gestures used by train drivers and station staff.

If you watch a Japanese train driver or the guard who rides at the back of the train, you will see that his (occasionally her) working life consists of formulaic phrases that must be loudly and clearly uttered (whether or not anyone is there to hear them), hand/arm gestures that must be made, flags waved and whistles blown: physical ways of ensuring that the right checks are being made and awareness of the right things is being maintained.

This strictly formulaic approach extends to everything, illustrated by this morning's westbound Sobu/Chuo line being subject to a delay. I was waiting at Asakusabashi station in Tokyo for the Sobu line train to Yotsuya. I arrived at the platform at about 9:10 a.m. A train promptly arrived, but once I got on, the doors remained open, and there was an announcement of a delay due to having to "remove something at Higashi-Nakano station."

I got onto the NHK News Web site, which has pretty much everything that happens locally, and found out that "what appeared to be a cloth" had to be removed from the power lines above the track between Shin-Okubo and Higashi-Nakano stations: a section of the JR Chuo Line that comes northward out of Shinjuku and curves westward.

A cloth on a power line making for a one-hour delay? Rules must be obeyed, and every one of them was no doubt afforded full compliance as the offending cloth-like object was carefully and deliberately removed.

Dealing with delays, as with everything else, is not done by halves, and when I arrived at Yotsuya station there was a little box of Delay Certificates (chien-shomeisho) in front of the manned ticket wicket, for me, and all others affected, to pick up and present to the boss at work as proof.

Delay Certificates, according to Wikipedia, are used only in Japan and Germany: about the only two countries where public transport delays are abnormal enough to warrant them.